Thursday, September 3, 2009

Twenty years ago we moved here to the WOODS and I begged, pleaded, asked, stomped my foot to have some of the trees cut. Chuck said "No, they are my trees and I want them." For many years this went on, me asking to have some of them cut, he always said "No, they are my trees and I won't cut them."About 4 years ago a breezy lady came through by the name of Katrina-remember her? Chuck sat up as long as he could and at times used the 'fireman's flashlight' to watch the trees BEND in the breeze. That's when he started wanting the trees cut-worry wart.The next storm came through about a week later-same old thing-he wants the trees cut, they will fall on the house and that was a BIG possibility. We were lucky so far. At that point it was 16 years and no trees-well one had frozen one year and the top dropped out and fell on the tailgate of a truck we had just bought for Loren, but nothing onto the house. Oh, wait, another ice storm and a limb went into the overhang.Over time a limb would sometimes fall on the power line and pull it a bit out from the house but hey, things happen.Then last year at the first of September WHAM!!! Gustav came over to our house and huffed and puffed and blew down a bunch of trees-way in the back. Several pine trees and 5 huge old oak trees.

This is one of the oaks after Chuck and his friend, Johnny, had gotten it to a manageable size, kind of. Nothing near the house, safe, sound, no power for 8 HOT, HUMID, HOT, SULTRY, HOT DAYS AND HOT NIGHTS. NO POWER. We weren't suffering as some, we had generators running 2 tv's -we don't watch the same programs-the computer, coffee pot, refrigerator, freezer and the sump pump to keep the toilets in working order. We even borrowed a small window airconditioner for the bedroom at night. We didn't suffer, we just didn't like it. I don't do camping and this was as close as it gets for me.The next week, the next storm, Ike this time, nothing to write home about.Anyway, Chuck has been talking about cutting the trees all around the house since then. I've gotten used to them and if they are going to fall, they are going to fall. We are now in the process of having the trees cut, hauled away, limbs bunched up to burn, stumps to be ground, YARD WORK TO BE DONE! It looks like what you saw in the papers and pictures after Mount St. Helens exploded in Washington state several years back-devastating. We have light coming in from places it never got to before, my curtains aren't nearly thick enough to keep out the glare-they have to be closed now during the day-whoever heard of such. This is a house that for the first 15+ years we didn't have curtains except in the bedrooms, didn't need them. Well, you need them now and they will probably have to be lined-I think my rug in the breakfast room has already started to fade!Take a look starting at the before-the house is up in there, trust me. You had to follow the winding drive about 100 yards to the house. Oh, and when backing out of the carport there were enough trees for guideposts to let you know how far to go, how far not to go and were not easily bruised if you bumped them lightly when you didn't exactly pay attention.These trees were my guideposts for backing out of the carport and getting to the driveway. Now there are garbage cans sitting there to give me somehthing to shoot for! Stumps and the Mercedes don't go well together.

From the carport looking toward the front yard. Notice the birdfeeder surrounding by all the trees that the squirrels and birds could have nice restful places to dine-not so much anymore-a lone birdfeeder.

Rudy is surveying his domain, and it is his, he lets us care for him and his area and we try our best to keep him happy-it's only right, he owns us completely.

This is the back yard. We have a plum tree now, it's in the bottom left corner with the skinny trunk.

The guys have been working for about 2 weeks and they are down to this or should I say a picture is worth a thousand words. Can you believe it???

The back yard. The bright green in the mid left side is the plum tree mentioned before-it gives off a lot of shade!From the fence before the driveway looking toward thebackyard.

More of the backyard-from the bedroom end of the house. Ah, a better picture of the shade tree, aka plum tree, it's a beauty.It is not the same, but it will get better-I keep telling myself that. Lots of work on our end when the workmen are done and that's a few days away. Oh, and we have to have the phone company come back out and put in a permanent line and bury it. The second or third day we had no phone until the next day-it was pulled from the box. Now we have a lovely orange cord running from the corner of the fence, down the ditch, up the driveway across the yard and around to the side of the house. It can easily be spliced together then taped and we are back in business. Done that a couple of times, no problems.That's what we've done for part of August and into September, what about y'all?